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“Most kids would go and play on the beach or something like that but I would go to Oliver’s Mount and watch the racing and try and get in the paddock and ask advice. I knew from an early age I would be involved with bikes, I had an interest right from the start. I found out what I needed to do to eventually be a road racer and that was always my aim.�

Ashley doing a hyperspin

Ashley was always very competitive and at school he did BMX and mountain biking. He left school and home at 15 to follow his dream of becoming a motorcycle road racer.

He was realistic though, getting an apprenticeship to earn the money he needed for road racing; “racing's not everything, you do need something else there as well, a real job!�

He was taken on by the Shell team as a rookie and there he learnt his craft. It was tough though, the very nature of the sport means there are lots of injuries, which means plenty of down time without money.

How on earth does he do that?

Ashley persevered and over the years he built up to racing in Supersport 400 and Supersport 600, riding Hondas and Kawasakis. However, the sport took its toll:

“I got to a point where I couldn’t remain healthy enough and fit enough to be as quick as I needed to be at national and international level.ÌýSo after a few years I got to a point where it wasn’t about money. I was struggling with fitness, just through injuries and that’s the way it goes in the racing game. There’s only a very few that actually make it and there’s hundreds walking around on crutches, so it got to the point where I had to call it a day really.â€�

After a few years out of the motorcycle racing business, Ashley regained his health and fitness, tried a few other sports, but in the end he went back to his first love.

And for a year or so that’s what I did, took myself off to private car parks and then I was training at an airfield near York and I was spotted by someone who was wanting to set up a team to do stunt shows all around the UK and Europe. That didn’t work out and so I went my own way and that’s where I am now.�

Ashley now tours the UK and Europe with his motorcycle stunt show which as he says “consists of everything you shouldn’t do on a motorcycle! A bike has two wheels, but wherever possible I prefer to have it on one!�

Ashley is a family man, so isn’t it dangerous?: “Yes, I’m old enough to know better, but young enough not to care!�